Basel World 2011: Jewellery by Breguet, or the art of exclusivity

23/03/2011

While the art of Breguet is first and foremost devoted to watchmaking, it also finds meaningful expression in the jewellery-making art. Not only because the beauty of a watch stems notably from the beauty of its exterior – especially when gemset – but also because both arts draw on many of the same crafts: designers, goldsmiths, polishers, gemsetters, stone polishers… And not least because the history of Breguet and its list of distinguished patrons features a number of illustrious women.

Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, and the world she invented around herself at Versailles are also inexhaustible sources of inspiration for Breguet. Whether the Petit Trianon domain that was her intimate refuge from the splendours of the royal court, or the Hameau which now bears her name and where she used to revel in the simplicity of nature and gardens, each of these highly symbolic locations is synonymous with refinement, voluptuous pleasures and poetry. They have inspired a number of Breguet’s jewellery creations including the La Rose de la Reine jewellery set, which is enriched with fresh interpretations this year.